In the past, a number of devices have been taught which provide means to launch balloons or baseballs or other objects, one being the well known "sling shot" such as U.S. Pat. No. #3,101,704 which is basically a fork with a handle and two elastic bands attached to the fork providing the propelling means.
Many other devices have been proposed such as the baseball throwing machine of U.S. Pat. No. #3,277,878 or the balloon launcher of U.S. Pat. No. #4,240,396 requiring at least three persons to operate.
Only a few attempts have been made to free up both hands to operate handles or rings which are attached to a pouch or release mechanism by multiple elastic members and which use at least one foot to hold down the pouch or release mechanism.
One such device is U.S. Pat. No. #3,299,564 which utilizes a foot-rest which the launcher holds firmly against the ground by placing his foot upon it and to which is hooked the rear part of the object to be launched, while the elastic cords of the catapult are attached to this object and are stretched.
Another device, namely the U.S. Pat. No. Des. #305,342 shows a foot strap attached to the bottom of a pouch containing an object to be launched.
Still another device is taught by co-pending application Ser. No. #395,511 filed Aug. 18, 1989 by one of the inventors of the present invention which also teaches a foot or toe strap attached to the bottom of a pouch containing an object to be launched.
While the above foot and toe straps have proven somewhat successful, in actual usage, the strap tends to bind on the foot or toe when attempting to release it as the friction between the strap and the shoe or foot of the launcher is quite severe under the stress created by stretching the elastic members and the foot or toe must be lifted to a substantial angle to allow the strap to slip off the shoe or foot.